Comics UK

cheers, Feen!

As a Geordie I would like to say that they could have called this strip 'Oor Nicky' and it would have as been as acceptable as 'Wor'. It is a village to village or even a family to family thing on Tyneside. In West Wylam, where I grew up, it was much more common to say 'oor' than 'wor'. But, of course, I do take the point that 'wor' is perhaps the more recognised possesive form outside of the NE and it does make a nice counterbalance to the already established Oor Wullie.
From my understanding of the article that went with the first episode it said that resident Sunday Post Geordie John Anderson had composed the dialogue. It didn't actually say that he had written the script. Although admittedly Morris Heggie's input wasn't mentioned at all I can imagine that John Anderson was perhaps called in to simply put Morris' script into the Geordie patois.
Other than that the blurb that accompanied the strip, that 'Wor Nicky' was the first new Sunday Post strip since the introduction of Oor Wullie and the Broons is simply not the case as the 1970's and 1980's saw a number of new strips introduced to the Fun Section outside of the Broons and Oor Wullie orbit.
The strip is beautifully drawn by Ken H though and is a nice addition to the Sunday Post comic strip content.

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:cheers, Feen!

Feen?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Wasn't a lot of the 70's and 80's stuff reprints from their back catalogue? I distinctly remember them using Keyhole Kate, Nero and Zero amongst others.

I only ask as that time, it was all new to me. But I have since found out that much of it was reprint.

Phoenix wrote:

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:cheers, Feen!

Feen?!?!?!?!?!?!?

'PHOEN': an abbreviation of 'Phoenix,' or splelt/spelled 'Feen' if you happen to be Smiffy out of the Bash Street Kids....... I'm just trying to get into the spirit of the forum, [allegedly].

Similarly I once heard that Geordies refer to Newcastle Brown Ale as a bottle of Broon. Where I come from its Brahn Ale. Brahn and Mild was enjoerd by Dockers rahnd 'ere. (Probably why there hasn't been a cockney comic strip as its so hard to put Sarf London speech into the written word.) Go to youtube and listen to Wot a Mouth by Bermondsey Boy Tommy Steele for a guide. He still enjoys his pie and mash in Tower Bridge Road.

colcool007 wrote:Wasn't a lot of the 70's and 80's stuff reprints from their back catalogue? I distinctly remember them using Keyhole Kate, Nero and Zero amongst others.

I only ask as that time, it was all new to me. But I have since found out that much of it was reprint.

Hi Col. After 1976 when the Nosey Parker and Nero and Zero reprints ended the SP Fun Section began to publish new strips by the likes of Tom Lavery, who was also the Broons and Oor Wullie artist at the time. 'Tik 'n' Tok - the rollicking robots', a future take on Nero and Zero, being an example. They did also publish a reprinted comic page culled from the Thomson comic titles for a few years at this time, Desperate Dan and Toots being two of the characters most frequently featured but new strips were certainly very much in the mix.
By the way Keyhole Kate never appeared in the SP Fun Section as a regular feature.

Whilst we're on the topic of newspaper strips, Dennis the Menace appeared in The Weekly News in the mid-1950's, though I've no idea how long this ran. Here's the advertising flyer that Phil-Comics sold a couple of years ago promoting it:
Buster also had his own strip in the Sunday Mail in the mid-1980's. I've never seen an example of this, and all I know about it is this single letter from the Christmas Buster of 1985:

"Dear Buster,
Could you tell me how many other weekly papers you appear in apart from BUSTER comic and the Sunday Mail.
Louise Mackie, Glasgow.
... None a the moment, Louise - but I'm always open to offers."

Personally I think this was a fake letter and was the editor's way of advertising Buster's appearence in the paper, but who knows?

Nice stuff, George---appearantly, those Weekly News Dennis strips are incredibly hard to get hold of.

Going back to Regional accents, I use to imagine that Newcastle readers used to pronounce the strip:

'The Chocs and the Chordies'


------or even the CHALKS and the Chordies.

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:'PHOEN': an abbreviation of 'Phoenix,' or splelt/spelled 'Feen' if you happen to be Smiffy out of the Bash Street Kids....

Well on the plus side, I suppose it's marginally better than Nix, but on the minus side, it appears to assume that I would be willing to spend time, and even be comfortable, in the company of Smiffy. If I had to imagine a worst nightmare scenario, I'm sure Smiffy would be in it somewhere, probably with Russell Brand and Michael Gove.

P.S. I think Smiffy splelt splelt rong. Dohnt they learn 'em nuffink a tall in Bash Street Skule?

Kashgar wrote:

colcool007 wrote:Wasn't a lot of the 70's and 80's stuff reprints from their back catalogue? I distinctly remember them using Keyhole Kate, Nero and Zero amongst others.

I only ask as that time, it was all new to me. But I have since found out that much of it was reprint.

Hi Col. After 1976 when the Nosey Parker and Nero and Zero reprints ended the SP Fun Section began to publish new strips by the likes of Tom Lavery, who was also the Broons and Oor Wullie artist at the time. 'Tik 'n' Tok - the rollicking robots', a future take on Nero and Zero, being an example. They did also publish a reprinted comic page culled from the Thomson comic titles for a few years at this time, Desperate Dan and Toots being two of the characters most frequently featured but new strips were certainly very much in the mix.
By the way Keyhole Kate never appeared in the SP Fun Section as a regular feature.

I must admit that I never thought that there was that much new in the mix. I do recall many of the characters being here one week and gone the next, but at the time, I did not think much of it at the time as I was used to odd characters appearing and disappearing in the papers of the time. Plus the habit of DCT using an old strip as filler on odd occasions in the comics made me think that it was a normal practice.

I've got a complete collection of the Dennis 'Weekly News' strips which ran for four years from 1953 to 1957.
In the 'Weekly News' he shared a tabloid page with Black Bob and a good number of his WN strips were reprinted in the early Dennis the Menace books. You can easily spot these strips as they are the ones printed over two pages in a larger format.

In the SP Fun Section Col some of the new strips introduced in the 1970's and 1980's did run for a considerable time and weren't just occasional fillers. I'll check my records and list them here shortly.

I have a vague memory of a Bill Ritchie drawn small strip about a bird. I scanned it on here a few years back - it was when the Sunday Post was printing the Broons and Oor Wullie in full colour.

Phoenix wrote:

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:'PHOEN': an abbreviation of 'Phoenix,' or splelt/spelled 'Feen' if you happen to be Smiffy out of the Bash Street Kids....

Well on the plus side, I suppose it's marginally better than Nix, but on the minus side, it appears to assume that I would be willing to spend time, and even be comfortable, in the company of Smiffy. If I had to imagine a worst nightmare scenario, I'm sure Smiffy would be in it somewhere, probably with Russell Brand and Michael Gove.

P.S. I think Smiffy splelt splelt rong. Dohnt they learn 'em nuffink a tall in Bash Street Skule?

yes, they don't call me 'Rab Smiffy' for nuffink!

Kashgar wrote:I've got a complete collection of the Dennis 'Weekly News' strips which ran for four years from 1953 to 1957.
In the 'Weekly News' he shared a tabloid page with Black Bob and a good number of his WN strips were reprinted in the early Dennis the Menace books. You can easily spot these strips as they are the ones printed over two pages in a larger format.

In the SP Fun Section Col some of the new strips introduced in the 1970's and 1980's did run for a considerable time and weren't just occasional fillers. I'll check my records and list them here shortly.

Thanks for that. I look forward to your listing of them.